Social Empowerment on Sustainability of Women Self-Help Groups Projects in Nakuru West Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

In 2017 there were a total of 997 registered women Self-Help Groups in Nakuru West. During the year, 438 WSHGs were deregistered. Among them, 48% were deregistered for continued dormancy, 21% due to poor financial management, 12% due to withdrawal of members incapacitating the SHGs functions while the rest (19%) for other reasons such as mutual agreement among members to deregister the group, internal disputes, and successful achievements of Group objectives. In the 2018/19 financial year, the Uwezo Fund funded 102 women Self-Help Groups in Nakuru West Sub-County, disbursing a total of three hundred million Kenya Shillings to fund incoming generating activities. However, the fund had no significant impact on women's empowerment as most of the funds dispersed were either misappropriated or channeled to other family issues rather than being used to empower the women. The general objective of the study was to establish the influence of social empowerment on the sustainability of women Self Help Groups projects in Nakuru West Sub-County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to assess the influence of Training of members, Stakeholders' Involvement, and Leadership on the sustainability of women Self Help Group projects in Nakuru West Sub-County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following theories and models:

Grow Training Model,

• Sustainable Business Models,
• Dunham and Pierce's Leadership Process Model, and
• Stakeholders Theory

This study utilized a Cross section research design. The unit of analysis was 176 women Self-Help Groups in Nakuru West Social Development Office. The unit of observation was 176 chairpersons of women Self-Help Groups in Nakuru West Sub-County. Another unit of observation was 5 officers in Nakuru West Social Development Office. Since the target population was manageable, the study adopted a census technique to include all the 176 targeted chairpersons of women Self-Help Groups and 5 officers in Nakuru West Social Development Office. Research data was collected using primary data. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interviews to collect data from the respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 176 chairpersons of women Self-Help Groups in Nakuru West Sub-County. A pilot study was undertaken in Njoro Sub-County. The validity of the questionnaire was examined using content validity, while the reliability of the questionnaires was evaluated through Cronbach's Alpha which measures internal consistency. Data were edited, coded, and entered into Statistical Package for Social Science version 25. The resulting data were then analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. This was later presented using a frequency table. The study revealed that the group has a well-structured leadership framework. The study also revealed that the leadership structure determines the flow of information, which affects the sustainability of women SHGs projects. The study concluded that there exists a positive and significant relationship (r = .641, P=0.000) between the training of members on the sustainability of women's self-help group projects in Nakuru West. The study concluded that there was a strong positive and significant relationship between stakeholder involvement and sustainability of Women Self Help Group projects in Nakuru West Sub-County, Kenya correlation (r=0.619 and P=0.023). The study also concluded that there was a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between leadership and sustainability of Women Self Help Group projects in Nakuru West Sub-County, Kenya (r=0.597, P=0.018). In conclusion, the study recommends that the department of social services, which is the body involved in policy issues, should help SHGs put on capacity-building forums which allow the members to be trained and equipped on the challenges that bedevil group.